crown of Arragon, who fly to a remote country, and fix their residence in the woods, in a miserable cell. Shakspeare, according to his usual course, twisted the story to his own purpose. In Greene's play, the Duke of Milan, instead of being the principal personage, being a subordinate coadjutor with the younger brother of Ferdinandus, in depriving his elder brother of a crown; in Shakspeare's comedy, the King of Naples being confederate with the younger brother of the Duke of Milan in depriving his elder brother of his dukedom. The circumstances,-that Shakspeare's king is king of Naples; and that a king of Naples is also introduced in Greene's play; that a requisition of homage, though not in the same form, nor for the same end, occurs in each of these pieces-that the name of Ferdinand is found in both, though in the Tempest he is the son, and in the history of Alphonsus the father :—and that Greene's Duke is Duke of Milan, and in the hour of distress is brought to the cell of the man whom he had highly injured aud contributed to banish; all these circumstances, I say, appear to me to add great probability to what has been now suggested. The hints, however, furnished by Greene, are so slight, that their adoption detracts no more from the merit of Shakspeare than his having formed The Winter's Tale on the same writer's Dorastus and Faunia.

And still slighter is that supplied by the sixth tragical tale of Turberville, which merely, I imagine, induced our author to marry the daughter of Alonso to a king of Tunis. The argument of that tale is as follows:

William, King of Sicily, had a grandson named Gerbino, a very accomplished knight, the fame of whose deserts had reached the daughter of the King of Tunis, who at that time paid tribute to the King of Sicily. The beauty and accomplishments of this lady had also reached Gerbino, and so strongly excited his curiosity, that he sent some merchants under the pretence of selling his jewels, &c. to present his respects to her, and to bring him a more particular description of her person. In consequence of their report a correspondence took place between them, and they plighted their troth to each other.

In the mean while the King of Granate (Granada) had heard of the great beauty of the daughter of the King of Tunis, and made proposals of marriage to her in due form, and her father consented to the match, to the great distress of the lady.

The King of Tunis having had some intimation that his daughter (whose name is not given) was attached to Gerbino, was apprehensive that he might molest her in her passage by sea to the King of Granada, to whom she was to be espoused; and therefore sent an embassy to the King of Sicily, the grandfather of Gerbino, to secure his friendship, and to obtain his promise that none of his subjects should attack the vessel which was to carry his daughter to Granada: which the Sicilian King knowing nothing

of his grandson's passion, faithfully promises, and sends his gauntlet as a pledge of his good faith, to be carried with the lady in a new ship which her father ordered to be built at Carthage for her conveyance.

The lady having heard how she was to be disposed of, immediately sent a messenger to Gerbino at Palermo, to inform him of this event, and that now was his time to give a proof of his courage, and to save her from being made the wife of another. On this intelligence, having provided two gallies well furnished with rowers, he remained in Sardinia till his beloved mistress should pass by. On observing her vessel approach, he embarked. The Saracens on board her ship, showed him the gauntlet; which was to be their passport; but to little purpose. Gerbino having seen the lady on the poop of the ship for the first time, became still more enamoured of her beauty; and tauntingly observed on the production of the gauntlet, that having not brought his falcon with him, he had no need of a glove, and that unless they resigned the lady to him, he would destroy their ship and them. Ast this requisition could not be complied with, the fight commences, and after some time, the Saracens bring the lady on deck, and having killed her, throw her limbs into the sea, telling Gerbino he might thus possess her. In revenge for this insult, Gerbino destroyed their ship; and having collected the fragments of the body of his mistress, returns to Sicily, where his grandfather, for his not having paid due respect to his gauntlet, orders him to be executed. Such is Turberville's tale*, formed on the fourth novel of the fourth day of Boccace.

Here too, I conceive Shakspeare twisted the story to his own purpose; for in this tale we find the daughter of the King of Tunis carried by sea to be married to the heir of Granada, and before she arrives at her husband's court, destroyed and thrown into the deep: In The Tempest, the King of Naples proceeds with his daugh ter to Tunis, where she arrives in safety, and is married to the King; and her father and brother are afterwards shipwrecked in their return to Naples. There is, it must be acknowledged, nothing uncommon between the two stories, except a passage by sea for the purpose of marriage at Tunis, and a disaster attending that event; in the one case preceding the marriage, in the other following it; in one the bride sets out from Naples, arrives safe at Tunis, and is married there; but her friends who accompany her are afterwards

*" Tragical tales, translated by Turberville in time of his troubles, out of sundrie Italians, with the argument and l'envoye of each tale." 8vo. 1587. There was a former edition in 1576. On one of this author's comick tales, a work mentioned by Sir John Harrington, there is reason to believe Shakspeare founded his Much Ado About Nothing.

plunged in the sea by a storm, from which, however, they suffer but little in the other the lady sets out from Tunis, but does not arrive at the place of her destination, her own friends choosing to throw her into the sea, rather than suffer her to be taken forcibly out of their hands by a lover who they conceived had no title to her.-Turberville's tale therefore is not produced as bearing any striking resemblance to that part of The Tempest, with which it is here placed in juxtaposition; but merely as it might have led our poet, when for the purpose of giving dignity to his storm he found it expedient to introduce a royal party on the sea,-to make the business that should place them on that element, the celebration of a marriage at Tunis. *

With respect to the magick of this piece, it was unquestionably Shakspeare's own. The popular notions that the Bermuda Islands were an enchanted region possessed by devils, naturally suggested the necromancy of Prospero and the agency of Ariel and the other ministering spirits introduced in The Tempest; yet, necromancy had been employed on the stage before our author's time. In an old play, of which but one copy is known to exist, entitled "The rare Triumphes of Love and Fortune, Plaide before the Queenes most excellent majestie, wherein are manie fine conceites with great delight," 4to. 1589†. Romelio, on a false charge having been banished by Duke Phyzantius, assumes the disguise of a hermit, takes refuge in a cave, and studies the black art, which he practises with such success that he strikes Armenio, the Duke's son, dumb; and then assuming the character of an uplandish Physician, he by his art cures him again and restores him to his speech. Hermione, his son, who is in love with Fidelia, the Duke's daughter, is so disgusted with necromancy, that in his father's absence he resolves to burn his books, which being done the father loses his power, and goes mad. Previously to this act, Hermione enters with some of his father's books under his arm, and recites the following lines:

*

*

*

"And therefore I perceive he strangely useth it, Inchaunting and transforming that his fancy doth not fit :

66

"As I may see by these his vile blasphemous books

'My soule abhorres, as often as mine eye upon them lookes.

*Even the slight circumstance of the place where the ship that carried Gerbino's mistress was built, appears to have dwelled on the poet's mind; and hence perhaps the mention of Carthage and Dido in the second Act of his comedy.

In the library of The Marquis of Stafford. This piece, I think, was written by the author of Solyman and Perseda; and I suspect that Thomas Kyd was the writer of both.

"What gaine can countervaile the danger that they bring? For man to sell his soule to sinne, is't not a greevous thing?

"To captivate his minde and all the giftes therein

"To that which is of others all the most ungratious sinne.

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

"Such is this art: such is the studie of this skill,

*

"This supernaturall devise, this magicke, such it will.
"In ransacking his cave, these bookes I lighted on,
"And with his leave I'll be so bolde, whilste he abroad is

gone,

“To burne them all, for best that serveth for this stuffe,
"I doubt not but at his returne to please him well enough;
"And, gentlemen, I pray, and so desire I shall,

66

You would abhor this study, for it will confound you all." Here clearly is no other archetype than what many of the romances of the time would have furnished. It is one of the first principles of necromancy, that when the books of the magician are destroyed, his power is at an end; and accordingly Prospero when be abjures magick, says, he will bury his staff or rod, and "deeper than ever plummet sounded drown his book."

We have now considered the several parts of the story of this piece. It remains only to investigate and trace the character of Caliban, which, though in some respects invented by our author, was yet not entirely without an archetype. This archetype, as my very learned friend Dr. Vincent, Dean of Westminster, suggests to me, may be found in Pigafetta's Account of Magliani's, or, as we call him, Magellan's Voyage to the Southern Pole; and I entirely agree with him in thinking that the Savage, who came aboard his ship, by that voyager called a Patagonian, was the remote progenator of the servant-monster in The Tempest. Of this savage our poet found a particular account in Robert Eden's History of Travaile, 4to. 1577, which contains an abbreviated translation of Pigafetta's work. Eden's book being far from common, it will be proper here to extract from it what relates to our present subject:

66

Departyng from hence (says the translator) they sayled to the 49 degree and a halfe under the pole antartike; where being wyntered, they were inforced to remayne there for the space of two monethes; all which tyme they saw no man : except that one day by chaunce they espyed a man of the stature of a giant, who came to the haven dounsing and singyng, and shortly after seemed to cast dust over his head. The captayne sent one of his men to the shore, with the shippe boate, who made the lyke signe of peace. The which thyng the giant seeing, was out of feare, and came with the captayne's servant, to his presence, into a little ilande. When he sawe the captayne with certayne of his company about him, he was greatly amased, and made signes, holding up his hande to hea

ven, signifying thereby, that our men came from thence. This giant was so byg, that the head of one of our men of a meane stature came but to his waste. He was of good corporation, and well made in all partes of his bodie, with a large visage painted with divers colours, but for the most parte, yelow. Uppon his cheekes were paynted two hartes, and red circles about his eyes. The heare of his head was coloured whyte, and his apparell was the skynne of a beast sowde togeather. This beast (as seemed unto us,) had a large head, and great eares lyke unto a mule, with the body of a camell and tayle of a horse. The feete of the giant were foulded in the sayde skynne, after the manner of shooes. He had in his hande a bygge and shorte bowe, the sleyng whereof was made of a sinewe of that beaste. He had also a bundle of long arrowes made of reedes, feathered after the manner of ours, typte with sharpe stones, in the stead of iron heades. The captayne caused him to eate and drinke, and gave him many thinges and among other a great looking glasse, in the which as soone as he sawe his own lykeness, was sodaynly afrayde, and started backe with suche violence, that hee overthrewe two that stood nearest about him. When the captayne had thus gyven him certayne haukes belles, and other great belles, with also a lookyng glasse, a combe, and a payre of beades of glasse, he sent him to lande with foure of his own men well armed. Shortly after, they sawe an other giant of somewhat greater stature with his bowe and arrowes in his hande. As hee drew nearer unto our men, hee layde his hande on his head, and poynted up towards heaven, and our men dyd the lyke. The captayne sent his shippe boate to bring him to a litle ilande, beyng in the haven. This giant was very tractable and pleasaunt. He soong and daunsed, and in his daunsing lefte the print of his feete on the ground.After other xv dayes were past, there came foure other giantes, without any weapons but had hid their bowes and arrowes in certaine bushes. The captayne retayned two of these, which were youngest and best made. He tooke them by a deceite, in this maner; that giving them knyves, sheares, looking glasses, belles, beades of chrystal and such other trifles, he so fylled their handes, that they coulde holde no more; then caused two payre of shackels of iron to be put on their legges, making signes that he would also give them those chaynes, which they lyked very well, because they were made of bright and shining metall. And whereas they could not carry them bycause theyr handes were full, the other giantes would have caryed them, but the captayne would not suffer them. When they felt the shackels fast about theyr legges, they began to doubt; but the captayne dyd put them in comfort, and bade them stande still. In fine, when they sawe how they were deceived, they roared lyke bulles, and cryed uppon their great devill, Setebos, to help them.-They say, that when any of them dye, there appeare x or xii devils, leaping and dauns